March
13
March 13th, 2009
by
Kerigan Marketing
Hey Ya'll once again I depend on some smart folks to keep me updated with the real facts not the hype. You can count on this being the real scoop from Hunter Palmer. If you need more info please give him a call and if you need a home I am your girl. Things are looking up!!! READ WHAT PALMER HAS TO SAY BELOW ABOUT OUR MARKET.
Mortgage rates remain remarkably stable with the thirty-year fixed rate hanging right around 5%. This despite a rally in the equity markets this week and a huge government bond auction, both of which tend to drive interest rates higher. The rally on Wall Street has been lead by financial stocks after Citi released an upbeat assessment of its 2009 profit outlook leading many investors to believe that we may be seeing the beginning of some long-missing confidence in the financial markets. Another glimmer of hope was Thursday's retail sales figures which showed while sales slowed in February, they slowed much less than analysts had expected.
I am seeing increasing signs of something I have been saying all along…we ( resort markets) were the first ones in this mess and we'll be the first ones out. While many of the national statistics still paint a rather gloomy picture for the real estate market, I firmly believe we have seen the bottom here locally. Though my evidence is mostly anecdotal, I have been doing this long enough now (sixteen years) to know the tell-tale signs of a market recovery. First of all, my phone is ringing off the hook with inquiries about all kinds of loans. For a while there it was strictly investor inquiries. Now the calls are coming in for investor loans, second-home, primary residences, refinances…you name it. Also, and this is critical, I am getting lots of first-time buyer calls. This is the most encouraging sign because it shows that there is a shifting psyche amongst the general public. The perception is becoming that now is the time to buy. For the past three recessions I have witnessed, economic recovery and, indeed, housing recovery have been preceded by a surge in first-time home buyer applications. I have no reason to think this time will be any different.
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